Russian troops were engaging in heavy fighting on the outskirts of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on Sunday as Kyiv forces tried to repel Moscow’s offensive. The Kremlin has opened a northeastern front in the 27-month war that has long been waged in the south and east, raising concerns that it could eventually cut supplies and block access to the country’s second city of Kharkiv, home to more than 1.1 million people.
Ukraine’s military said that Russian forces had advanced one kilometer (0.6 miles) into the region from the border village of Avdiivka and were advancing in the direction of the hill town of Chasiv Yar. This would put them within shelling distance of Kharkiv, a goal that Moscow has been seeking since it illegally annexed Donetsk and three other Ukrainian regions in 2022. The influential website DeepStateMap, which tracks developments in the conflict, says Russian troops have already taken control of Strilecha, Pylna, and Borsivika.
A Ukrainian official told AFP that the situation had deteriorated, with heavy battles on the outskirts of Vovchansk. The official added that thousands of civilians had been displaced from the area, with some spending the night in basements. An AP correspondent saw people arriving at a reception center for evacuees from the region.
The incursion into the region has been a “significant development” in the war, says security and defense editor Deborah Haynes. She adds that Vovchansk, which is just three miles from the Russian border, has come under intense bombardment, with some areas of the town being wholly razed and others having been reduced to rubble.
A resident of a neighborhood close to the front line described hearing explosions that felt like “something from Star Wars above my head” and said he saw an apartment block in flames. Local officials have been distributing food and blankets to those forced to evacuate, and Ukraine is urging its citizens not to panic.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukraine’s citizens to trust the army defending its borders and not give in to emotions or fears. He also appealed to the United States and other Western governments for help. He is concerned that upheaval in the Middle East may divert attention and resources away from Ukraine, jeopardizing the country’s ability to defend itself.
The Ukrainian army has been battling to fend off the Russian advance in the northern part of the country for two days now as Russia pushes further into the territory it seized with the backing of separatist rebels in 2014. Moscow claims that Ukraine violates international law by taking steps to prevent it from re-supplying its troops in the region.
Ukraine’s government has dismissed these claims as lies and a deliberate attempt to destabilize the country. It says Russia is trying to regain momentum after its initial setbacks in the south, where it has lost control of several towns and villages. However, many analysts believe that the country will not be able to repel a significant Russian invasion for much longer and is planning a more extensive invasion of the north.
